Improved washing-machine



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@anni fir WILLIAM W. WILSON, OF'GENEVA, WISCONSIN.

Letters Patent No. 88,935, dated .Ap/ril 13, 1869.

IMPROvED VVASEIN'C--MACIHIN'IL 'I'he Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of the same.

To all whom it 'may concern Bc it known that I, WILLIAM W.Wrr.soN, of Geneva, in the county of Walworth, and State of Wisconsin, have invented a new and improved Household-Machine; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, which will enable others skilled in the art to make and usethe same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specilication, in which- Figure 1 is an end view of my invention.

Figure 2 is a side view of the same. y

Figure 3 is a sectional elevation of the same, the section being taking through the line :z: x, g. 1.

Figure 4 is a detail section at the line y y of lig. 2.

Similar letters of reference indicate like parts.

The object ofthis invention is to produce an improved household-machine, by combining in the same general machine a washing-machine and churn, and in so devising the mechanism of the same thateither can be operated separately ortogether' in a simple and effective manner-.

My invention will be better understoodv by referring to the drawiugsfiu which- A- is the box, or tub of the washing-machine. The tub is constructed with side-boards, of-wood, with a curved bottom, of sheet-zinc.

rIhis tub is divided into two equal compartments, by means of a centre-board, B, against which board the clothes are squeezed in the washing-operation, by means ofthe vibrating squeezing-frames C D, each of which consists of two arms, O, connected at the bottom by a iiat rubbing-piece, D, having arounded edge, as shown in fig. 3.

The arms are pivoted on arod, and vibrate thereon as a centre.

E G is the general frame ofthe machine, and supports the tub, and affords the bearings of the main -shaft H, which bears the short working-beams I, the

ends of which latter are connected with the squeezingframes, by means of rods J J as shown, whereby the said squeezing-frames will be actuated to and from the centre-board B, as the shaft H is oscillated, and the said frames, in being so actuated, will press the clothes against the board B, and squeeze them, thereby cleansing them.

The shaft H is oscillated by means of a segmental eccentric-pulley, M, mounted on the said shaft, and connected, by means of a exible band, K, with the segmental pieces b, affixed near each end of avibrating hand-lever, L.

The band K is aiiixed'to the upper part of the periphery of the oscillating pulley M, and wraps on either ofthe segmental pieces b, and on the periphery of the eccentric-pulley M, when the machine is in operation.

The lever L' is not hung directly on a pivot, but is provided with an arm, N, projecting Adownward from its middle point, the lower end of this arm being pivoted to some fixed point of the machine, as the pivot l cl, projecting from the side of the tub.

Each end of the lever L is provided with a handle, O, as shown, by means of Whichthe attendant operates it.

The mechanism thus far described refers solely to the washing-machine, .and the advantages are as follows:

When the pulley M is oscillated to its greatest extent in either direction, the eccentric-pulley M acts with greatest leverage,` for the belt is in the position of a tangent to one of the longest radial lines of the pulley. This relation is partially produced by reason of the lever L vibrating on' an arm, N, as described, but mainly by the eccentricity of the pulley M.

The arm N changes the relative position of the segmental pieces b, thereby carrying the point of attachment of band with the lever further outward from the vertical cent-re line of the lever, and thus bringing the band K in a tangent line with one of the greatest rad-ii .of the pulley, as aforesaid.

The cosineof the angle made by the working-beams is also shortened, thus increasing their leverage on the squeezing-frames.

These relative conditionsof the pulley, band, lever, and working-beams, operate to obtain great pressure of the squeezing-frames upon the clothes when the terminal pressure, which is most eiective in cleansing, is obtained with the same, or only a slight increase in the power required to actuate the machine in its intermediate movements.

The two part-s J and J of each connecting-rod are pivoted together, thus aordng a jointed rod, which permits the parts J to be folded up, in order to raise the squeezing-frames sufficiently high for the insertion of clothes.

A second stud, or pin, is required to hold the two parts J and J rigid, so as to operate as a single rod, and this pin is aiiixed to and held in place bya spring, e, the lower end of which is affixed to the part J.

The pin, thus held, passes through both of the parts J J', and contributes to produce a rigid joint.

When the parts J are to be folded up, the springs are drawn back, .which withdraws the pin from one of the parts, and thus permits the said parts J to work ou the pivot, connecting it with the part J rIhe part D of the squeezing-frame acts to roll vthe mass of clothes over at each impingement, thus presenting them in a new position for the next impingement, which operation conduces to their more perfect and speedy cleansing.

The churn-body, P, is axed to' the washing-machine in any suitable manner, so that it shall be nearly under the straightpart, or arms ff, of the pulley M.

latter are compressed to the fullest extent, and this The dasher-stai is formed of two semi-cylindrical halves, g g, which are arranged with their plane surfaces in contact, thus forming a cylindrical staff.

' Each part bears one-half of the dasher or flashers, which are operated in contrary directions, thus causing a rolling or abrupt ductuation of thecream, which conduces to the speedy production of butter.

. Each part of the dasher-staff is connected with the part f of the pulley, by rods 71J h, as shown, the lower ends of which are held in the slotted ends of each stati" g by removable pins y The churn, thus connected, derives its motion from the washing-machine, but I have provided other mechanism, by means of which the churn may be operated separately.

It will be observed that by pulling out the pins f1', t', the rods 7L will be disconnected from the churn-staves g, and the washing-machine left free to be worked separately, if desired; and, should it be desired to work the churn separately, the mechanism hereinafter described will be used.

Q Q are two uprights, resting in sockets c, afhxed to the churn, near the base of the same.

One of these uprights is slotted, to receive a lu'g, k, afiixed to the churn, 'near its top. i The slot and lug constitute a simple device for preventing the uprights from slipping out of the sockets when the mechanism is in operation, but which enables the said vuprights and their accessory mechanism to bev easily removed when required.

The upper ends of the uprights are connected by a pair of archedplates, l l, which afford bearings for the pin m, on which the segmental pulley R oscillates.

n n are` the rods, similar to the rods h, and connect the pulley R with the two parts of the churn-staff, each rod being pivoted in the slotted end of its respective part, or stai -g.

The oscillating pulley R is connected by a band, o, with the segmental shoes p p of a hand-lever, S, having handles q, and pivoted to a block, w, (see g. 4,) affixed as a cross-brace between the uprights Q Q of the churn-mechanism.

As the hand-lever is vibrated, the pulley R is oscillated, and, being connected by the rods n n with the dasher-staves g g, the latter are operatedin. opposite directions.

lL' t are the removable pins, which pass through the slotted ends of the staves g g, and through the rods n n or h h, thus connecting either pair of rods with the staves.

One of the pins connecting the plates l Zwith the uprights Q Q is formed with a handle, j, so that it may be easily drawn. out to separate the independent churnmechanism from the churn, when the latter is to be driven by the washing-machine.

The pin 7' being thus drawn out, the plates Z are turned back, the band o on that side being first slipped off from its segmental piece to permit the said platesturning back on the other pin as a hinge.

The button-plate u, (see tig. 4) which closes the recess in the block w, through which the churn-staves work, is then turned away from the fixed plate if, which it meets with a bevelled joint to hold it when in place. The upright Q is then movedaw'ay from the lug k on the churn, and both uprights are lifted from the sockets and removed. The rods h h are then connected with the staves g g, as before.

T is a guide-block for the staves.

Its recess is closed by a button-plate, r, and fixed plate t, similar to a c in iig. 4. This block is affixed to the washing-machine in any suitable manner.

The bands K and o are attached to the inner Side of their respective segmental pieces, and pass down and under the lower ends, and upin contact with the faces of the same, as shown, so that by slipping off the bands they will remain slack and inoperative.

Having thus described my invention,

I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patentl. The combination, in a washing-machine, of the semicircular tub A, shafts H, eccentric-pulleyM, working-beams I, rods J, squeezing-frames G D, each working in a separate compartment, substantially as and for the purpose herein shown and described.

2. The combination, with the above-claimed parts, of the jointed rodsJ J and pin-spring e, substantially as and for the-purpose herein shown and described.

3. The hand-lever OL N, segment pieces b, and belt, or band K, in combination with the pulley M, for imparting a vibrating motion to the squeezing-frames C D,as herein shown and described.

4. The combination, in a machine for household use, of the churn P, having doubledasher-staves g g, connected by means of rods h h, with the eccentric-pulley M of the washing-mechanism, substantially as and for the purpose herein shown and described.

5. The churn-mechanism Q Q, R, l 1,'0, S, q, 1), n` u, substantially as described, in combination with the double churn-staves g g and churn P, substantially as and for the purpose herein shown and described.

WILLIAM W. 'WILSON Witnesses:

C. S. OATMAN, S. B. VAN BUsKIRK. 

